1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrostatographic reproduction apparatus such as copiers and printers, and more particularly to such a copier or printer that includes an imaging member having imaging and non-imaging portions.
2. Description Relative to the Prior Art
Electrostatographic reproduction apparatus for producing copies of an original document are well known. Such copies typically are produced on suitable receiver sheets through a repeatable process that normally includes the steps of (1) using electrostatic charges at fixed first and second stations in some manner to form a latent image on the surface of an imaging or image-bearing member; (2) developing the latent image at a third station with developer material that includes toner particles; (3) transferring the developed image at a fourth station from the imaging member to a suitable receiver sheet for subsequent fusing; and (4) cleaning the image-bearing surface of the imaging member thereafter at a fifth station by removing residual toner and other particles therefrom.
In such reproduction apparatus in which the imaging member is repeatedly reused, ordinarily the imaging member has an endless shape for example in the form of a drum or of a flexible web. The endless flexible web form as disclosed for example in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,186, issued May 24, 1977 in the name of Hunt, Jr. et al. has certain advantages and disadvantages relative to the drum form. Among the advantages is the fact that such a flexible web can be disposed in a flat orientation along one portion thereof, and in a curved orientation along another portion thereby facilitating placement of operating stations thereabout. More importantly, the flexible web form of an imaging member can allow for multiple images to be in the formation process at any given time and still retain some compactness in overall machine size.
Among the disadvantages, however, is the presence of a web splice, that is where two ends of the web material usually have been splice-jointed together in order to form its endless shape. Unfortunately, the portion of the web including and immediately adjacent either side of the splice is not suitable for forming quality images, and so is regarded as a non-imaging area. Accordingly, in order to avoid forming images on such a non-imaging area, it is conventional to move the web about its path in the reproduction apparatus until the splice is detected usually by a single detector located at a set point selected so that the imaging portion of the web is then in a position to run in proper registration with the fixed electrostatographic process stations of the apparatus as described above.
Unfortunately, moving the imaging member as such wastes valuable time especially in conventional large and high volume reproduction apparatus which each have a long flexible web imaging member. Such a long imaging member usually is divisible into a plural number of imaging portions, and valuable time and productivity is lost especially when running short jobs if the long web has to be moved as described with every job in order to achieve proper registration thereof at the single splice set point.